Tool for sanding and buffing and method of use

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a tool for sanding and buffing an irregularly shaped surface that includes a head having a rounded surface, a first abrasive material adapted for sanding or buffing, the first abrasive material attached to the rounded surface via an adhesive substance or other attaching means and at least partially covering the rounded surface, and a handle attached to the head. The tool may further include a second abrasive material attached to the rounded surface via the adhesive substance or other attaching means that at least partially covers a portion of the rounded surface not covered by the first abrasive material. If the first and second abrasive materials have varying properties such as their coarseness, the user may find each material to be especially efficient for use in separate sanding, buffing, or polishing processes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to provisionalpatent application U.S. Ser. No. 62/616,301, filed Jan. 11, 2018. Theprovisional patent application is herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, including without limitation, the specification, claims,and abstract, as well as any figures, tables, appendices, or drawingsthereof.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to a tool for sanding andbuffing a surface. More particularly, the present disclosure relatesgenerally to a specially adapted mounted point for use in conjunctionwith an automobile.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the present disclosure. Work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in thepresent disclosure, as well as aspects of the description that may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art.

Tools for sanding, buffing, and polishing automobiles have traditionallycomprised circular sanding, buffing, or polishing pads made up of auniform abrasive material, such as sandpaper, foam, felt, or fabric. Touse the traditional tool, a user or a machine, or the combination of auser and a machine, manually or automatically rotates and translates thetool while the tool is in direct contact with the surface that is to besanded, buffed, or polished. Various lubricants or otherbuffing/polishing agents are often applied directly to the surface to besanded, buffed, or polished or directly to the traditional tool to aidin the sanding, buffing, or polishing processes.

While these traditional tools are quite effective at sanding, buffing,and polishing large and generally flat surfaces, they lose theireffectiveness when used in conjunction with an irregularly shapedsurface. Such a situation occurs frequently in the automotive industry,where automobiles regularly suffer from defects such as scratches todefects caused by the oxidation of iron (rust) within components of theautomobile.

Furthermore, for one who wishes to repair automobiles by engaging in aplurality of the previously mentioned processes, one has traditionallybeen required to use multiple tools or has been required to substitutethe abrasive material of the circular pad for a different abrasivematerial, thereby resulting in further inefficiency.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a tool that is speciallyadapted to be used in conjunction with irregular surfaces and for a toolthat reduces the need for the use of additional tools or for thesubstitute of different materials to be used in conjunction with thetool.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object, feature, or advantage of the presentinvention to provide a tool that overcomes the aforementioneddeficiencies and improve upon the state of the art.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a tool that can be easily used and assembled by the user.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a durable tool and method of use that results in a long anduseful operational life.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a tool and method of use that improves the safety of the user.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a tool that is of a robust design.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a compact tool that can be stored easily within an auto bodyshop.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a tool and method of use that reduces the amount of cleanupnecessary after use of the tool.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a tool and method of use that is high quality.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the invention is to provide atool and method of use that can adapt to practically any automobile,motorcycle, or other power sport vehicle.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is toprovide a tool that is cost effective.

It is still yet a further object, feature, or advantage of the presentinvention to incorporate the tool into a power tool system accomplishingsome or all of the previously stated objectives.

It is still yet a further object, feature, or advantage of the presentinvention to provide methods of using, manufacturing, installing, andrepairing a tool or power tool system accomplishing some or all of thepreviously stated objectives.

The following provides a list of aspects or embodiments disclosed hereinand does not limit the overall disclosure. It is contemplated that anyof the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined with otherembodiments, either in full or partially, as would be understood fromreading the disclosure.

According to some aspects of the disclosure, a tool for sanding andbuffing an irregularly shaped surface preferably includes a head havinga rounded surface and a first abrasive material adapted for sanding orbuffing. The first abrasive material is attached to the rounded surfacevia an attaching means and at least partially covers the roundedsurface. A handle is attached to the head.

The tool may optionally include a second abrasive material attached tothe rounded surface via the adhesive substance that at least partiallycovers a portion of the rounded surface not covered by the firstabrasive material. The second abrasive material may be coarser than thefirst abrasive material. The attaching means may be an adhesivesubstance, and the adhesive substance may be a cyanoacrylate.Alternatively, the attaching means may be a hook and loop fastener. Thehead may be spherical. A portion of the handle may be enclosed withinthe head. The handle may a cylindrical shaft or may include grooves thatfit to a user's hand.

According to some other aspects of the present disclosure, a method forsanding and buffing an irregularly shaped surface preferably includesproviding a tool comprising a head having a rounded surface, a firstabrasive material adapted for sanding or buffing, the first abrasivematerial attached to the rounded surface via an attaching means and atleast partially covering the rounded surface, and a handle attached tothe head; sanding the irregularly shaped surface with the tool; andbuffing the irregularly shaped surface with the tool.

The method may optionally include polishing the irregularly shapedsurface, painting the irregularly shaped surface, or that theirregularly shaped surface is the body of an automobile.

These or other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reviewingthe following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments,accompanied by the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front elevation view of a tool for sanding and buffing anirregularly shaped surface, the side and rear elevation views beingsubstantially identical in appearance to the front elevation view,according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of a tool for sanding and buffing anirregularly shaped surface, according to some aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a front elevation view of another embodiment of a tool forsanding and buffing an irregularly shaped surface, the side and rearelevation views being substantially identical in appearance to the frontelevation view, according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of another embodiment of a tool forsanding and buffing an irregularly shaped surface, according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure illustrate several ways inwhich the present invention may be practiced. These embodiments will bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein likereference numerals represent like parts throughout the several views.Reference to specific embodiments does not limit the scope of thepresent disclosure and the drawings represented herein are presented forexemplary purposes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following definitions and introductory matters are provided tofacilitate an understanding of the present invention. Unless definedotherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the samemeaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art towhich embodiments of the present invention pertain.

The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless contextclearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the word “or” is intended toinclude “and” unless context clearly indicate otherwise. The word “or”means any one member of a particular list and also includes anycombination of members of that list.

The terms “invention” or “present invention” as used herein are notintended to refer to any single embodiment of the particular inventionbut encompass all possible embodiments as described in the specificationand the claims.

The term “about” as used herein refers to variation in the numericalquantities that can occur, for example, through typical measuringtechniques and equipment, with respect to any quantifiable variable,including, but not limited to, mass, volume, time, distance, wavelength, frequency, voltage, current, and electromagnetic field. Further,given solid and liquid handling procedures used in the real world, thereis certain inadvertent error and variation that is likely throughdifferences in the manufacture, source, or purity of the ingredientsused to make the compositions or carry out the methods and the like. Theclaims include equivalents to the quantities whether or not modified bythe term “about.”

Terms such as first, second, vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper,lower, front, rear, end, sides, concave, convex, and the like, arereferenced according to the views presented. These terms are used onlyfor purposes of description and are not limiting unless these terms areexpressly included in the claims. Orientation of an object or acombination of objects may change without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

The apparatuses, systems, and methods of the present invention maycomprise, consist essentially of, or consist of the components of thepresent invention described herein. The term “consisting essentially of”means that the apparatuses, systems, and methods may include additionalcomponents or steps, but only if the additional components or steps donot materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimedapparatuses, systems, and methods.

The following embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the invention however otherembodiments may be utilized. Mechanical, procedural, and other changesmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined only bythe appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to whichsuch claims are entitled.

FIGS. 1-2 show a tool 10 for sanding and buffing an irregularly shapedsurface.

The tool 10 includes a head 12 having a rounded surface and a rod 18. Inthe embodiment shown, the rounded surface of the head 12 is sphericaland appears convex from the viewer's vantage point. However, it shouldalso be appreciated that the rounded surface of the head, or at leastsome portions of the rounded surface of the head, is not limited to aspherical shape, and could possess concave surfaces that are speciallyadapted to sanding, buffing, or polishing the surfaces of an automobilethat bulge outward from the body, such as the corners of the automobile.

Also included in the tool 10 is a first abrasive material 14 attached tothe rounded surface of the head 12 via an attaching means 20. The firstabrasive material 14 at least partially covers the rounded surface ofthe head 12. Non-limiting examples of abrasive materials that may beused in conjunction with the tool 10 comprise sandpaper, foam, felt, orfabrics. The first abrasive material 14 may be located at any positionon the head 12 such that it may be specially adapted to buff or sand anyirregularly shaped surface.

When contacting the irregularly shaped surface, the abrasive nature ofthe first abrasive material 14 allows the first abrasive material 14 tobuff out or sand away deformities, such as scratches or dents, withinthe irregularly shaped surface. Contact caused by moving the firstabrasive material 14 in a circular manner relative to the irregularlyshaped surface often improves the buffing and sanding processes.Repeated use of the tool 10 causes the first abrasive material 14 towear down over time, eventually causing the first abrasive material 14to lose its abrasive nature. When this occurs, the first abrasivematerial 14 can be replaced with a new first abrasive material 14 oreven a second abrasive material 16 (not shown in FIGS. 1-2) differentfrom the first abrasive material 14 to improve the lifetime of the tool10.

The tool 10 be configured to be used with a machine that rotates thetool, such as at high speeds. Such high-speed rotation will allow thefirst abrasive material 14 to interact with the surface in a way thatwill alter the surface, such as by buffing a painted surface. Such amachine could be hand operated, or operated by a motor, such as anelectric motor. The machine, for example, could be an electricallypowered hand drill which secures the tool 10 by clamping or otherwisesecuring the rod 18. Attaching the rod 18 to the drill will cause thetool 10 to rotate with the rotation of the drill. However, other ways torotate the tool are to be included and are envisioned as part of thedisclosure.

A user may find that a tool 10 having a single abrasive material 14located perpendicularly to a handle 22 throughout the circumference ofthe spherical head 12 may be useful for applications where the user isobstructed from applying the tool 10 to the irregularly shaped surfacefrom all positions that are not generally parallel to the irregularlyshaped surface. Even in the event a user is not obstructed in any way,the user may find it useful to include a coarser abrasive material nearthe parts of the head that are perpendicular to the handle 22 (shown inFIGS. 3-4) when using the tool, because such a configuration would ineffect allow the user to more easily create the torque necessary toperform more labor-intensive processes such as sanding or buffing,rather than polishing or painting.

A second abrasive material 16 (also shown in FIGS. 3-4) may be attachedto the rounded surface of the head 12 via an attaching means 20 and mayat least partially cover a portion of the rounded surface not covered bythe first abrasive material 14. The first and second abrasive materials14, 16 may have varying properties such as their coarseness, such thatthe abrasive materials 14, 16 are especially efficient for use inseparate sanding, buffing, or polishing processes. For example, a secondabrasive material 16 may be coarser than a first abrasive material 14 sothat the user can utilize the second abrasive material 16 to sand theirregularly shaped surface before the user utilizes the first abrasivematerial 14 to buffer the irregularly shaped surface. The presentdisclosure is not limited to the use of just two abrasive materials, andcould potentially use more than two abrasive materials if desirable. Anon-limiting example of this situation may occur where the situationcalls for three abrasive materials to be used because the user wants toinitially sand the irregularly shaped surface with a very coarsesandpaper, follow up the initial sanding process by sanding theirregularly shaped surface with a less coarse sandpaper, before finallybuffing or polishing the irregularly shaped surface with an even lesscoarse third abrasive material.

In an alternative embodiment, the first abrasive material 14, the secondabrasive material 16, or the third abrasive material (not shown), mayintegrally form a part of the head 12. Such a configuration eliminatesthe risk of the abrasive materials 14, 16 moving with respect to thehead 12 (e.g. prevents the abrasive materials 14, 16 from slipping).

In yet another alternative embodiment, the abrasive materials 14, 16 maybe layered on top of one another to improve the lifetime of useassociated with the tool 10. For example, the coarsest material may beinitially included on the surface of the head 12 such that afterrepeated use (for example in sanding applications), the second abrasivematerial 16 will become exposed and will become available to provide anabrasive material 16 having a varying level of coarseness to increasethe number of uses for the tool 10. Layering the abrasive materials 14,16 allows the user to effectively customize their own tool 10 to adaptto their own specific needs through nothing more than simple, repeateduse of the tool 10. In this way, the user may be able to customize andalter the shape of the tool 10 into the surface configuration that isnot sold or otherwise provided by the manufacturer.

The attaching means 20 may be any known attaching means, non-limitingexamples of which would include adhesive substances, hook and loopfasteners (e.g., Velcro), screws, other mechanical fasteners, etc. In anembodiment wherein the attaching means comprises an adhesive substance,a cyanoacrylate (Superglue) may be used.

The handle 22 is operatively attached to the head 12 and may bepartially or completely enclosed within the head 12. The handle 22 mayenclose the rod 18 or be used in lieu of (e.g. replace) the rod 18. Thehandle 22 may take any known shape to assist the user in sanding,buffing, or polishing the irregularly shaped surface. A non-limitingexample of which would be a cylindrical shaft which encloses the rod 18,as is shown in the FIGS. 3-4. The handle 22 may also take any knownshape to assist the user in gripping the tool 10. Accordingly, thehandle 22 may include grooves that fit to a user's hand during use.

In use, the sanding and buffing of an irregularly shaped surface may beaccomplished by providing the tool 10, sanding the irregularly shapedsurface with the tool 10, and buffing the irregularly shaped surfacewith the tool 10. Optionally, the user may choose to polish or paint theirregularly shaped surface once the surface has been sanded or buffed.The irregularly shaped surface may be the body of an automobile.

According to other aspects of the disclosure, the tool 10 may also bereferred to a specially adapted mounted point. The tool 10 may beconsidered specially adapted because traditional mounted points have notyet been adapted to sand, buffer, or polish irregularly shaped surfaces,as traditional mounted points are generally use for grinding andcutting.

Traditional mounted points are very small bonded abrasives orsuperabrasive wheels with a ball, point, cone, cylinder, or bulletshape. They are mounted on a pin or mandrel for portable die grinder anddeburring applications. Their geometrical configuration may sometimesappear similar to the tool 10, but their compositions (and thusfunctions) are vastly different. As is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,708,619, the harsh coarseness of the abrasive material bonded to thetool in a traditional mounting point is particularly useful for grindingcomplex shapes in other objects, rather than retaining the same generalshape of the object in an effort to sand, buffer, or polish the object.Furthermore, because the traditional mounted point must travel at highenough speeds to be able to quickly grind a complex shape into anotherobject, the traditional mounted point is limited in that the traditionalmounting point generally must be mounted on a pin such that thetraditional mounted point may be attached to a machine. This is ineffect loses some of the variability the mounted point could otherwisehave if it were able to be wielded manually by a user.

The tool 10, while not limited to manual use by a user, does not sufferfrom this sort of deficiency because the specially adapted mountingpoint 10 is not required to travel at high enough speeds in order togrind complex shapes into other objects. Instead, the specially adaptedmounting point 10 still functions to sand, buffer, and polish at speedsthat are attainable through manual use by a user.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present inventionaccomplishes at least all of the stated objectives.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

The following list of reference numerals is provided to facilitate anunderstanding and examination of the present disclosure and is notexhaustive. Provided it is possible to do so, elements identified by anumeral may be replaced or used in combination with any elementsidentified by a separate numeral. Additionally, numerals are not limitedto the descriptors provided herein and include equivalent structures andother objects possessing the same function.

-   10 tool-   12 head-   14 first abrasive material-   16 second abrasive material-   18 rod-   20 attaching means-   22 handle

The present disclosure is not to be limited to the particularembodiments described herein. The following claims set forth a number ofthe embodiments of the present disclosure with greater particularity.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tool for sanding and buffing an irregularlyshaped surface, comprising: a head having a rounded surface; a firstabrasive material adapted for sanding or buffing, the first abrasivematerial attached to the rounded surface via an adhesive substance andat least partially covering the rounded surface; and a handle attachedto the head.
 2. The tool of claim 1 further comprising a second abrasivematerial attached to the rounded surface via the adhesive substance andat least partially covering a portion of the rounded surface not coveredby the first abrasive material.
 3. The tool of claim 2 wherein thesecond abrasive material is coarser than the first abrasive material. 4.The tool of claim 1 wherein the adhesive substance is a cyanoacrylate.5. The tool of claim 1 wherein the head is spherical.
 6. The tool ofclaim 1 wherein a portion of the handle is enclosed within the head. 7.The tool of claim 1 wherein the handle is a cylindrical shaft.
 8. Thetool of claim 1 wherein the handle includes grooves that fit to a user'shand.
 9. A tool for sanding and buffing an irregularly shaped surface,comprising: a head having a rounded surface; a first abrasive materialadapted for sanding or buffing, the first abrasive material attached tothe rounded surface via an attaching means and at least partiallycovering the rounded surface; and a handle attached to the head.
 10. Thetool of claim 9 further comprising a second abrasive material attachedto the rounded surface via the adhesive substance and at least partiallycovering a portion of the rounded surface not covered by the firstabrasive material.
 11. The tool of claim 10 wherein the second abrasivematerial is coarser than the first abrasive material.
 12. The tool ofclaim 9 wherein the attaching means is a hook and loop fastener.
 13. Thetool of claim 9 wherein the head is spherical.
 14. The tool of claim 9wherein a portion of the handle is enclosed within the head.
 15. Thetool of claim 9 wherein the handle is a cylindrical shaft.
 16. The toolof claim 9 wherein the handle includes grooves that fit to a user'shand.
 17. A method for sanding and buffing an irregularly shapedsurface, comprising: providing a tool comprising: a head having arounded surface; a first abrasive material adapted for sanding orbuffing, the first abrasive material attached to the rounded surface viaan attaching means and at least partially covering the rounded surface;and a handle attached to the head; sanding the irregularly shapedsurface with the tool; and buffing the irregularly shaped surface withthe tool.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein the irregularly shapedsurface is the body of an automobile.
 19. The method of claim 17 furthercomprising polishing the irregularly shaped surface.
 20. The method ofclaim 17 further comprising painting the irregularly shaped surface.